CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
(Monographs) 


ICIMH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canadian  instituta  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microraproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


D 
D 

D 

□ 
D 

D 
□ 

n 

□ 


n 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endommagee 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  resfauree  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing  /  Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
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Only  edition  available  / 
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Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion  along 
interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serree  peut  causer  de 
I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsion  le  long  de  la  marge 
int^rieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restorations  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have  been 
omitted  from  filming  /  Use  peut  que  certaines  pages 
blanches  ajoutees  lors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  6te  film6es. 

Additional  comments  / 
Commentaires  suppi6mentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm6  le  meilleur  exemplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire qui  sont  peut-§tre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibll- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  la  m6tho- 
de  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 

I      I   Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

! I   Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommag6es 


D 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restaur6es  et/ou  pellicul6es 


0   Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
Pages  d^color^es,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 

I      I   Pages  detached  /  Pages  d6tach§es 

I  t/j   Showthrough  /  Transparence 

I      I   Quality  of  print  varies  / 


n 


D 


Qualit6  in6gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  mate!  ■• 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppler     •     r; 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscurer  -  -rrata  slips, 
tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  totalement  ou 
partiellement  obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une 
pelure,  etc.,  ont  6t6  film6es  a  nouveau  de  fafon  k 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant  ayant  des 
colorations  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
film^es  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la  meilleure  image 
possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below  / 

Ce  document  est  filme  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 


10x 

14x 

18x 

22x 

26x 

30x 

x/ 

12x 

16x 

20x 

24x 

28x 

32x 

The  copy  filmed  h«re  has  b««n  rvproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Stauffer  Library 
(fleer's  University 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  iagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacificationa. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  improa- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
other  original  copies  ara  filmad  beginning  on  the 
first  paga  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  imprea- 
sion.  and  anding  on  the  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  impraaaion. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  eech  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — '^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  Tha  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method  : 


L'axamplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grace  i  la 
Q6ntrosix6  da: 

Stauffer  Library 
Queen's  University 

Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  it*  raproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattei*  de  I'exemplaira  film*,  at  an 
conformity  avac  las  conditiona  du  contrat  d(> 
fiimage. 

Lea  axamplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  en 
papier  eat  imprim*e  sont  filmis  an  cammencant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  an  terminant  soit  par  ia 
darniAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  emprainte 
d'impraasion  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplairas 
originaux  sont  fiimAs  an  commandant  par  la 
pramiAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  empreinta 
d'impraasion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  terminant  par 
la  darniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dea  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darnlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  la 
cas:  la  symbola  «^-  signifie  "A  SUIVRE ".  !e 
symbole  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartea,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  pauvant  *tre 
filmAs  i  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etra 
raproduit  an  un  seul  clich*.  il  est  film*  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  ^  droite. 
et  de  haut  an  bas,  an  pranant  la  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Las  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrant  la  mAthode. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MICROCOfV    RESOLUTION    TiST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No   2| 


1^  IS 

MO    mil  2.0 


.8 


^     ^:^PPLIEDJyMGE 


■e"^:    tost    Morn    Street 

Rochester.    Ne*    York         i4609        USA 

■;^'6)    -.82  -  O.lOO  -  Phoic 

(7^6)   288  -  5989  -  Fqi. 


'I   li     r  1'       I 


THH 


GALVESTON  PLAN  OF  CITY 
GOVERNMENT 


BY 
WILLIAM  BENNETT  MUNFIO 


BeprlBted  from  the  Proceedings  of  tho  national  Municipal  League 

1907 


The  Galveston  plan  of  oity  government 


By 
Vllliam  Bennett  Munro 


Reprint  from  the  Proceedings  of  the 
National  Municipal  League. 
1907 


QUEliN'S    UNIVERSITY, 

Kingston,  C»n  «!)* 


19' 


Oeneiis  of  the 
PreMnt  Fnmt- 
work  of  City 
Oovenunent 


The  Galve.ton  Plan  of  City   Government. 

WILLIAM  BENNETT  MUNRO.  Ph  U 
A..i.u„.  p„,...„  „,  o„.„„„,  ,,  „,^^^^^  u„iv.;,i.y. 

Toe  recent  growth  in  popularity  of  the  •'commission"  system 

of  cty  government  is  no  doubt  the  offspring  of  a  more  of  L" 

-,        ...  ^'•^^Pread  dissatisfaction  with  the  compl-xity 

of  contemporary  American  municipal  a.lminis- 

ra„on.     Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  however. 

"s  cunous  system  which  students  of  compara- 

small  co,„cil  ,ta  foS/r',7'  ""'"""«  "'  "  ""'y^  '""  " 
..f  veto  Jwer  r„,l  n"  ,  ,  "°  '^^^  "«"'i"  '"""'o-s. 
.-  been"::";;:     V  't  illt^^^^'^'T'l '"  *'' 

be  attributed  ^  '  ^''"""'-""-^''on  '""st.  without  doubt. 

analogy      .lonimaM  decisively   the  course  of 
organic  development  in  all  the  areas  of  Lj 

cXTerL\j:;,j-"™^t:;:Si  •;:-„:•  r'''^i,r^"' '^' 

l.a.l  come  to  he  an  independent  e.ecuLe'Xr:  wi^h "a  ^^ 


ChangM 
Wrought  in  the 
American  Syi- 
tern  after  the 
Revolution 

administration. 


22390 


Defects  of  the 
Present  System 


of  veto  oviT  local  Ii'Ki»latioii,  witii  ijic  rijjlit  of  appointniciu  Mih- 

.  _  -,^      kit  to  confiniuitioi).  ati<!  with  a  variity  of  otl-.or 

Influence  of  the       i    •   •  .    .  i  •  ,     .     , 

Federal  Analogy  •■"  "'""-"■ativc  priro-.-nucs  uludi  tiic  iap-c  of  a 

ti-iiitiry  lia-  jjroaily  aii},'mciiu-.|.  TIr-  iminicipal 
cnmicil  lias  likewise  beconu'  bicameral,  apparetitly  for  no  gtx)! 
reason  >avc  that  tlie  clcmaii'ls  of  analogy  IikI  seemed  so  to  dic- 
tate, ill  short,  it  seems  to  have  hceii  asMinied  that  a  framework 
of  government  devise  I  to  rccoiuile  the  jarring  interests  of  a 
dozen  indepen  lent  slates  would  hear  reproduction  in  miniature, 
and  wouM  prove  efficient  in  applicatifin  to  comparatively  small 
urban  units  of  a  tliorouglilx  homogeneous  character.  For  three 
<|uarters  of  a  century  the  cities  of  the  United  States  have  ex- 
pended much  iKjJiiu.d  energy  in  attempting  to  patch  an  adminis- 
trative garment  winch  was  not  devised  with  an  eve  to  their 
direct  requirements.  It  may  he  doubted  whether  they  have  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  more  than  to  make  the  misfit 
more  pronounce«l.  They  have  hfcn  weighted 
down  wilii  an  administrative  organization  which 
has  sacrificed  the  highly  essential  qualities  of  efficiency  and 
promptness  in  action  to  a  blind  adherence  to  the  principle  of 
"division  of  powers."  heedless  of  the  fact  that  the  proper  gov- 
ernance of  a  municipality  makes  no  urgent  demands  whatever 
for  any  strict  recognition  of  this  principle.  Steering  wide  of 
centralization  of  powers  they  have,  however,  floundered  into  the 
slough  of  a  hopelessly  divide.I  jurisdiction  with  its  unfortunate 
accompanimenl  of  ditfused  responsibility. 

.\  logical  result  of  all  this  has  been  a  reaction  against  t,.e  \ery 
cunibrousness  of  municipal  machinery  —  a  reaction  which  has 
manifested  itself  in  some  cities  by  the  abolition 
of  bicameral  councils  and  the  substitution  of 
single  elective  bodies.  In  other  cases  the  domi- 
nant iiitlnciici'  in  civic  aihninistration  has  been 
tr-.nsferred  lo  the  mayor,  the  local  legislative 
authority  bcnig  dnis  shorn  of  nearly  all  its  jurisdiction.  Even 
more  frequently  the  delicate  adjustment  of  powers  has  been  ruth- 
lessly disturbed  by  the  direct  intervention  of  state  authorities 
an!  the  assumption  of  purely  municipal  functions  by  state 
boards.     This  movement  toward  definiteness  in  the  location  of 


The  Reaction 
Against  the 
Multiplication 
of  Municipal 
Organs 


-  i"  cities  liKe   1:..^:.      r\  :'n''T/'''"'"""'  "^«""'"- 

: -•'••>-''-'-''-"""-:n..X.^^s:;;i"r 

'c'.v  exiHTnncMt  succcssfnllv  cnn.luctC  bv  7(Z        ,  ■'  "' 

."an.ls  upon  tl,o  civic  trea  L  p  e    me  I  ^l^T'T""'  '""  "" 

'>ron,ht    ..atters    to   suci,   a  "c      r    a     LIT  '",  "^^ 

<""n.l  itself  calle  1  u.x.n  hv    h  ""'    ^'''g'-^'ature 

cane  I  upon  hj    .!,e  busniess  men  of  Galveston  to 

The  Galveston      ^l'       n'  '"'''"'"'  ^"'  ''^■•' '"«  "!'!>  the  finan- 
Experiment  ^''^     Pr-^len.       The   ol.l   n        :ipal    frame-vork 

\\as  aholisliei!  root  rii-I  bra  nn  i  i.„ 

cLarter.  grante.l  in  .c;o..  ,„e  a.lminis^rat:  in  of  ii.e  c  t  "'" 

tntsfe.i   to  five  commissioners    thre,      f    ^  ^    ''^    *'"" 

Poinlci  l.v  the  governor  1       ?  "^.    '7  '''''   ^°  ''*^  ^P" 

-o  for  .„  a:eir;,,'n:'x  r^i^itii'Tr'  "='  '^!^'''"'' 

elective    nn.l  ti,„  fi.         •  ■     ,*^'^  makmg  all  the  commiss  oners 
>  ivvo  jears,  of  five  commissioners,  one  of 


whom  is  given  the  title  of  mayor -president.    All  are  elected  at 
large.     The  mayor-president  is  presiding  officer  of  the  commis- 
sion hut  otherwise  has  no  special  powers.     By  a  majority  vote 
of  the  five  commissioners  all  municipal  ordinances  are  passed, 
and  all  appropriations  are  voted,  the  mayor-president  having  no 
right  to  veto  either  ahsolute  or  qualified.      The  commissioners 
likewise,  hy  majority  vole,  apportion  among  themselves  the  head- 
ships  of   the    four   main   departments   of   civic   administration, 
namely,  finance  and  revenue,  waterworks  and  sewerage,  police 
and  fire  protection,  and  streets  and  public  prop,    -y;  the  mayor- 
president  having  no  special  department  but  exercising  a  general 
coordinating  intiucncc  over  all.     A  single  commissioner  is,  there- 
fore, immediately  responsible  for  the  administration  of  each  de- 
partm-nt.     The  commission  as  a  whole  draws  up  and  passes  the 
annual  budget,  awards  all  contracts,  and  makes  all  important 
appointments.     Minor  appointments  are  made  by  the  individual 
commissioners   each  in   his  own  special  department.      There  is 
throughout  a  complete  centralization  of  all  powers,  legislative 
and  administrative,  and  a  very  definite  location  of  all  •  'spon- 

sibility. 

No  one  who  has  made  any  impartial  attempt  to  follow  the 
work  of  the  Galveston  commission  during  the  last  six  years  will 
venture    to    gainsay    its    very    striking    success. 
The  financial  condition  of  die  city  has  been  most 
decideiUy   improved;  all  the  municipal  services 
have  been  brought  to  a  much  higher  point  of  efficiency ;  a  better 
grade  of  citizens  has  been  found  willing  to  seek  and  to  accept 
civic  office;  and  the  general  tone  of  municipal  administration 
has  been  very  noticeably  raised.     The  commissioners  present,  in 
their  reports,  such  a  convincing  array  of  facts  that  it  would  be 
idle  to  question  the  success  of  the  new  regime.     This  success  has 
been  attributable  in  general  to  three  or   four  canons  of  policy, 
from  whic.i  the  commissioners  have  not  swerved  during  the  last 
five  years,  and  which  may  be  summed  up  as  ( i )  the  use  of  ap- 
proved business  methods  in  civic  financing;  (2)  the  entire  elim- 
ination of  all  leakages  in  expenditures;  (3)   the  making  of  all 
appointments  on  the  basis  of  individual  efficiency;  and  (4)  the 
strict  accountability  of  each  commissioner  for  the  on-goings  of 


The  Besults  in 
Galveston 


his  own  department.  All  the  improvements  of  the  last  half 
-lecade  in  the  Texan  city  can  be  attributed,  substantially,  to  the 
tact  that  the  new  system  of  government  has  rendered  strict  ad- 
Merence  to  these  fun.lamental  rules  of  sound  municipal  admin- 
istration possible  and  even  imperative. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  in  any  detail  of  specific  a<Ivances 
made  in  municipal  administration  by  Galveston  under  the  sys- 
The  Galveston  IZ  °tt  ^°"'"^'"^"*  by  commission.  It  is  enough 
Example  in  ',^*   *''^'^  '^^''^  '■^^^'••y   "oted   by  neighboring 

Other  Texan  ^^^^"  ^"'^^'  ^"^1  ^^at  the  latter  soon  bestirred 

Cities  themselves  to  the  task  of  inaug-    ting  a  similar 

framework  of  administration.  Since  loo^  char- 
ters fundamentally  similar  to  that  of  Galveston  have  been  sought 
and  obtained  by  five  other  cities  of  Texas:  Houston,  Fort  Worth 
Austin  Dallas,  and  El  Paso.  The  experience,  moreover,  was 
not  lost  upon  many  cities  in  the  North,  and  during  the  last  two 
ur  three  years  measures  have  been  introduced  into  the  legisla- 
tures of  at  least  a  dozen  states  all  aiming  to  permit  cities  to 
simplify  their  framework  of  administration  more  or  less  gener- 
ally in  accord  with  the  Texan  plan.  At  its  last  session  the  Legis- 
lature of  Iowa  put  such  a  measure  upon  the  statute  books, 
rendering  optional  to  all  cities  of  over  25,000  population  the 
adoption  of  the  commission  system.  This  privilege  has  already 
found  acceptance  in  the  capital  city  of  Des  Moines;  in  this  case 
provision  being  ma.le  for  the  employment  of  certain  advanced 
:ne  hods  of  securing  the  strict  and  consistent  responsibility  of  the 
authorities  to  their  constituents. 

Despite  a  general  impression  that  the  commission  system  of 
The  System  '°"'  administration   is  a  novelty  in  American 

Not  a  New  One     government,    the    principle    involved    is   by   no 
in  America  "^cans  new  in  the  United  States.     It  is  in  almost 

no  important  respect  different  from  the  New 
luigland  system  of  town  government  by  a  board  of  selectmen 
who  with  their  chairman,  assume  and  concentrate  in  themselves' 
all  administrative  and  legislative  functions  from  one  annual  elec- 
tion until  the  next.  There  are  many  New  England  "  towns  " 
with  populations  quite  large  enough  to  entitle  them  to  rank  as 
cities,  which  have,  for  more  than  a  century,  maintained  what  is 


8 


The  Herits  and 
Defects  of  the 
Commission 
Plan 


to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  system  of  government  by  commis- 
sion. Tiieir  selectmen,  who  are  chosen  by  the  people  at  large, 
represent  in  their  jurisdiction  a  complete  fusion  of  local  power 
and  responsibility.  In  every  state  of  the  L'nion,  moreover  (with 
the  exception  of  Louisiana  and  Rhode  Island),  county  adminis- 
tration has  been  vesteil  almost  wholly  in  the  hands  of  an  elective 
commission.  Tlie  use  of  the  term  "  commission  "  has  misled 
many  into  overlooking  a  system  with  which  they  have  been 
long  familiar  under  a  different  designation.  American  cities 
have  had  occasion,  no  doubt,  to  become  familiar  with  "  commis- 
sions," but  with  commissions  of  a  very  different  sort. 

No  aspect  of  the  general  problem  of  municipal  reform  has 
received  more  attention  in  the  press  and  on  the  platform  during 
the  last  year  than  the  merits  and  defects  of  the 
commission  plan.     In  the  main,  however,  these 
discussions  have  <lwelt  largely  upon  the  advan- 
tages of  the  system,  many  of  which  are  almost 
too  obvious  to  require  emphasis.      The  defects, 
on   the  other   hand,   do   not  appear  on   the  surface  so  plainly, 
though  a  closer  examination  will  di.sclose  thai  die  system  of  gov- 
ernment by  commission,  if  generally  applied  to  American  cities 
under  present  conditions,  would  in  all  probability  encounter  im- 
portant objections  which  no  real  friend  of  permanent  municipal 
reform  ought  to  treat  lightly.     Some  of  these  relative  merits  and 
defects  may  be  briefly  noticed,  so  far  as  it  may  be  accounted 
safe  to  generalize  in  the  light  of  American  municipa'  experience. 
The  cardinal  advantage  of  the  system  is  that  it  affords  definite 
iiope  of  putting  an  end  to  the  intolerable  decentralization  of  re- 
sponsibility which  now  characterizes  American 
civic  administration.      By  concentrating  powers 
and    focusing  public   attention   upon   a   narrow 
area  il  will  render  more  effective  the  scrutin\ 
which  the  voters  may  apply  to  the  conduct  of 
men  in  public  office.     If  the  system  does  not  guarantee  efficient 
administration,  it  at  least  promises  to  disclose  where  the  blame 
for  inefficiency  should  be  made  to  fall      It  will  undoubtedly  facil- 
itate the  election  of  a  higher  type  of  men,  for  American  mu- 
nicipal experience  has   plainly  demonstrated   that   small  bodies 


The  Important 
Advantage  of 
Centralizing 
Besponsibility 


Willi  large  powers  attract  a  better  class  of  citizens  than  large 
bodies  wit!,  restricte.l  jurisdiction.  The  reduclion  in  numbers 
of  the  school  boards  of  St.  Louis,  Boston,  and  other  large  cities 
have  .-served  to  show  the  truth  of  this  aphorism  in  conclusive 
fashion.  Even  thoiigii  party  organizations  may  continue  to  dic- 
tate tlie  nomination  of  commissioners,  as  thev  now  do  that  of 
councilmcn,  these  organizations  will  no  longer  he  placed  under 
pressure  to  give  representation  to  every  sectional,  racial,  and  re- 
hgu  ns  interest  at  the  cost  of  placing  inferior  men  in  candirlacy 
I  hat  government  by  commission  will  eliminate  partisan  candida- 
tures IS  something  scarcely  to  be  hoped  for ;  but  there  is  goorl  rea- 
son to  believe  that  it  would  remove  from  party  organizations  much 
of  the  sinister  pressure  with  which  tliese  have  now  to  contend. 

Again,  it  is  well  known  that  municipal  corruption  nowadays 
arises  as  frequently  from  the  power  of  municipal  authorities  to 
Thelegseningof  '''"'^''*   ^''^  meritorious  plans   of  public-service 
Civic  Corruption  '^'^•'Porations  as   from   their   power   to   forward 
reprehensible  projects.      If  the   present  system 
of  checks  and  balances  puts  a  restriction  upon  the  ill-considered 
granting  away  of  privileges,  it  none  the  less  puts  a  premium 
upon  the  withholding  of  rights  which  should,  in  the  public  in- 
terest, be  granted  without  hesitation.     It  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  the  chances  of  obtaining  a  municipal  franchise  at  the 
present  time  in  any  large  city  are  properly  proportioned  to  the 
merits  of  an  application  therefor.     A  small  commission  would, 
in.Ieed.  simplify  the  task  of  .lealing  with  civic  franchises  on  a 
business  basis,  and,  if  there  be  any  fear  that  the  unchecked  power 
of  granting  municipal  franchises  is  a  jurisdiction  too  momentous 
to  be  veste<l  in  the  hands  of  a  small  body,  provision  mav  be 
made,  as  in  the  Des  Moines  charter,  for  having  the  acts  of  the 
commission  in  this  sphere  subject  to  ratification  by  the  voters. 

Still  again,  as  we  are  frequently  reminded,  the  work  of  ad- 
Approximates  ";""»stering  the  affairs  of  a  city  is  in  every  essen- 
the  Government  *'^'  respect  akin  to  that  of  conducting  the  affairs 
of  the  City  to  of  a  private  business  corporation.  Now  the 
SL*Cornn™«„„  ''''"'"*  ^'^^'"''^^^teristic  of  sound  corporate  man- 
new  Corporation  ,gen,ent  is  the  centralization  of  powers  in  the 
hands  of  a  small  board  of  directors.     What,  we  are  asked,  would 


lO 

be  tliought  of  a  business  corpuration  whicli  intrusted  the  man- 
agement of  its  interests  to  a  bicameral  hoa-d,  made  up  of  classes 
of  mcml)ers  selected  in  different  ways,  representing  different  in- 
terests, possessing  separate  jurisdictions,  and  designed  to  embody 
a  system  of  checks  and  balances?     Why  should  the  affairs  of  a 
municipality  demand  an  administrative  machinery  so  much  more 
complex  than  that  of  the  largest  private  corporation?    There  is 
danger,  however,  of  pressing  this  point  too  far,  for  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  analogy  between  the  work  of  the  municipal 
and  that  of  the  private  coriwration  is  by  no  means  perfect.     The 
city,  for  example,  enjoys  many  legal  privileges  and  immunitier. 
which  an  ordinary  business  corporation  does  not  possess.     It  is 
not  legally  responsible  for  the  torts  of  its  police  officers,  of  the 
employes  of  its  fire  department,  or   for  tho.e  of  several  other 
classes  of  its  agents ;  whereas  the  private  corporation  is  directly 
liable  to  be  heavily  mulcted  for  the  negligence  or  inefficiency  of 
those  whom  it  takes  into  its  service.     Furthermore,  in  determin- 
ing matters  of  policy  the  authorities  of  a  municipality  must  give 
weight   to  many  considerations  of  social  well-being  which   the 
management  of  ^  private  corporation  may  afford  to  neglect.     It 
must  be  admitted,  too,  that  administration  by  a  board  of  direc- 
t(jrs  is  not  necessarily  synonymous  with  integrity  and  efficiency. 
One  need  not  go  far  afield  to  find  instances  in 'which  directors 
have  been  deficient  in  their  knowledge  of  affairs  immediately  in 
their  care,  or  in  which  they  have  personally  profited  at  the  ex- 
pense  of   those    interests   which    they   were   chosen   to   guard. 
Xevertheless,  it  may  be  said  with  truth  that  there  is  plenty  of 
room   for  the  infusion  of  "business  principles"  into  civic  ad- 
ministration, and  the  analogy,  if  not  pushed  too  far.  lia>  much 
force. 

The  system  of  government  by  commission  will  serve  to  render 
_,,     -         .    .       municipal  administration  more  prompt  and  more 

p,nd  Effective  in       ""^  "'^'"'^  '"'''>'  ^^  '■''S''om,  but  there  is  also,  al- 
Action  "'"^t  inevi!ai)Iy.   friction,  delay,  and  intriguery. 

A  system  of  division  of  powers  is  almost  certain 
to  counterbalance  what  it  gains  in  security  against  hasty  and 
arbitrary  action  what  it  loses  in  inability  to  cope  with  problems 


II 


winch  demand  prompt,  united  and  uncompromising  attention 
In  local  admmistration  promptness  an  J  efficiency  are  impel  ative- 
and  It  may  be  properly  urged  tiat,  in  order  to  secure  these 
essential  qualities,  a  municipality  is  justified  in  weakening  its 
organs  of  deliberation  and  in  assuming  a  reasonable  amount  of 
risk  that  concentrate.!  power  will  be  abuse. 

There  are,  no  doubt,  mar^y  incidental  advantages  which  cities 
may  reasonably  hope  to  secur,  from  the  introduction  of  the  com- 
mission system,  and  to  these  Lhe  experience  of  Galveston  l--->rs 
abundant  testimony.  Most  of  these,  however,  are  relativ  to 
the  existing  conditions  in  particular  cities,  and  mav  not,  there- 
fore, be  dealt  with  in  general  terms. 

To  the  casual  student  the  defects  of  the  commission  syst-m 
are,  perhaps,  not  so  apparent  as  the  merits.  They  exist,  never- 
THe  Defects  of  *'^'^'^^^^'  ^"^'  ^^'^  of  sufficient  importance  to  de- 
the  CommiMion  "^^"''  '^^''^f^''  an<l  judicious  consideration;  for 
System  t'le  cause  of  municipal  reform  may  receive  per- 

manent injury  through  the  open  advocacy  by  its 
friends  of  any  plan  of  administration  which  has  not  been  ade- 
quately studied  in  the  light  of  conditions  which  now  exist  or  are 
likely  to  exist  in  American  cities. 

The  most  common  objection  urged  in  the  public  press  and  by 
the  rank  and  file  of  municipal  politicians  is  that  the  plan  is  un- 
American  and  undemocratic;  that  it 'involves  a 
radical  <leparture  from  American  traditions  of 
local  self-government  and  proposes  a  step  in  the 
direction  of  municipal  dictatorships.      This  ob- 
jection is  as  easy  to  raise  as  it  is  difficult  to 
support.     The  present  framework  of  m„„icipal  ac-ministration 
with   Its  .Iiyision  of  powers,   is  not  a  whit  more  traditionally 
American     than  is  the  New  England  town  sys.em  of  govern- 
ment by  a  board  of  selectmen  with  no  division  of  powers  what- 
ever.    That  the  system  of  administration  bv  a  small  body  of  men 
ten.ls  to  remove  control  "  awav   from  the  people  "  is  an  asser- 
tion which  the  whole  history  of  local  government  in  the  United 
States  absolutely  refutes.     Indeed,  it  has  been  proven  time  and 
again  t!iat  a  single  elective  officer  may,  in  his  official  actions, 
more  faithfully  reflect  public  opinion  than  a  large  body  of  elect.'d 


The  Commission 
System  Claimed 
to  be  rn-Ameri- 
can  and  un- 
democratic 


The  Plan  Pro- 
poses to  Narrow 
the  Educative 
Work  of  Local 
Government 


12 

representatives.  Mud,  of  tl.e  latent  an.I  unreasoning  prejudice 
agan,st  the  new  plan  springs,  no  .loubt.  fron,  the  p.^nliar  asso! 
uat.on  ot  the  "  eommission  "  with  the  i.lea  of  state  interference 
in  municipal  matters. 

Tl,e  observant  De  Tocqueville  once  remarked  tliat  local  jjov- 
cniment  is  to  national  what  the  elementary  school  is  to  the  uni- 
versity; tliat  each  in  its  respective  sphere  per- 
forms the  work  of  preparation.      Political  edu- 
cation,   It    has   been   observed,   consists   in   the 
^ercise  not  only  of  the  riglit  to  choose  but  of 
,        ,     ^''*-'  '■'f^''^  '-^  ^^  chosen-in  can,li<!acv  and  in  ser- 

annnally  allorded  to  a  large  number  of  citizens.      The  plan  of 
government  by  commission  proposes  greatly  to  reduce  this  „um- 

fnn:  f  ""'"'■  J;"^^'-^  ^^'"S  fille^I  by  appointment  presumal^ly  for 
long  terms.  This  policy,  it  is  objected,  would  tend  to  ve.^  the 
work  of  CIVIC  administration  permanently  in  the  hands  of  a  very 
few  men.  and  might  very  well  assist  in  the  development,  as  in 
the  German  cities,  of  a  professional  city  I)ureaucracv  Tl,;  pres- 
ent mulnplication  of  elective  offices  alTords  u  a  unique  degree  the 
opportunity  for  a  large  number  of  citizen  to  be  brought  into 
touch  wi:h  local  political  atYairs  and  to  obtain  such  political  e.lu- 
cation  as  this  contact  involves. 

Again,  objection  is  made  that  the  system  will  serve  to 
s.rengthen  rather  than  to  weaken  the  influence  of  the  regular 
The  System  will  P^^'^^n  organizations  in  civic  affairs.  The  con- 
Tend  to  Increase  centration  of  power  and  patronage  in  the  hands 
if  pI^I"*'"'*  °^  ,^  ^""''^  commissioners  would,  it  is  claimed, 
OrSfJat..ns  Z'^'Jl  '^^^"^  inoperative  to  the  party  leaders 
.  /h^t  the  commission  .should  be  controlled;  and 

the  party  energies,  now  spread  over  a  wider  area,  woukl  thus  be 
concentrated  at  a  single  point.  It  is  quite  true  tliat  whenever 
e  power  and  the  patronage  of  the  mayor  ha^fe  been  e.xten.led 
the  result  has  not  been  to  diminish  the  force  of  partisanship  in 
mayoralty  elections;  on  the  contrary,  party  leaders  have  been 
.mpelled  to  make  more  energetic  campaigns  and  to  perfect  their 
organizations  in  order  that  they  might  control  an  office  which 


13 

l.a.l  bccun,e  ,l,e  nu.rc  vahuble  to  tho;n.     Furthermore,  tlte  clcc- 
..    of  fcn,r  or  i.vc  con.n.issioners  by  tbe  voters  at  large  vvo'^  1 
1  probab.l.ty.  resnlt  in  selections  from  the  ranks  of  a  sbg 

"      a    l.;'"'"""'"'"'^'  "^"'•'  '"  -""^^  --^  *-'l-t  its  whole 
^  Lr^     UeT  '"n""'  ?T*''  """'"'  '"  — 1-nce  be  wholly 
"IS,  but  a  uouM  be  the  more  usual  outcome.     (J„  ,he  other  han.l 
|.  brge  .nmcil,  the  members  of  which  are  electe.,  b/sm        H^ 
tr.  ts.  w.Il  ahnos,  certainly  contain  representatives  of  the  weatr 
H. Ucal  party.     .Much  of  the  hopes  placed  upon  the  new  "^ten 
ar.se   fn.n  the  proposal  that  commissioners  shall  be  electe     1 
arge;  but  ,t  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  plan  of  et  on  a 
large  ,s  not  wulunu  its  counterbalancing  ,!etects 

It  has.  perhaps,  been  characteristic  of  the  American  voter  that 
1-  .s  prone  to  .ay  too  much  stress  upon  the  form  of  governme.n 
A  Change  in  '"^  ''"'^  "P""  '^s  personnel.     He  is  not  al- 

Ftn  of  Govern-  ^''^^^  ^""^"^  'o  see  that  the  more  efficient  admin- 
ment  will  Avail  '^tration  of  European  cities  results  not  at  all 
a'chZiffr*  ''''''■  '"P""'"''  ^'■^•"ework  of  local  govern- 

se»k  and   oblam   municipal   office      Without   a 

t7;or 't?:Trt^' '''  ^"'^'"^'^"  "*■  ^°— -  ^^^^ 

sion    for   the  existmg  system   wou'  i  assuredly  avail   but   little 

l"^d  'b'  "":;'"  "  "'  ''"■'"'^'^"^  ^"-"->-  with  wide   Jw  Is 
oul    be  much  more  capable  of  injuring  the  best  interes  s  of  a 

or4n  ith  '"'  '  "7"P^  '''  ""'^*--''^"^  ^^^  -'  administrat  ve 
cXlx^^v  7  >'"""''  '"*''°^"^^  -iecentralized:  for  the  very 
compltx.ty  and  cumbrousness  of  tl,e  prese.it  system  serves  in 
-me  degree  to  place  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  "anrw  cLspre;^ 
or    consis  ent    nront'dointr        ti,„         i  •        ^  ^vuiespreati 

whether  a  better  clas"f  n  --^f  ,  1"^-^^-"    i^    therefore, 

'a  ueuer  class  ot   men  would  be  attracted  to  a   «mali 

ccmm,ss,on  than  to  a  large  council.     To  this  the    es  on  n 

pcnence  .seems  to  give  an  affirm  ..ive  reply      P  t  i    i    "  1^ 

of  probability  rather  than  a  matter  of  certainty  '  "'"" 

Sponsors  of  the  commission  plan  have  sometimes  ur^ed  that 

ts  adopt.on  would  ensure  administration  by  skilled  ex^m  s  nee 

appom  ments  n,ade  by  a  small  body  would  probablyTe     i'ctlted 

by  reasons  of  „,er,t  and  experience  alone.'  It  may  be  not  d 


14 


however,  that  tlie  vesting  of  tlie  riglit  of  appointment  in  the 
hands  of  a  small  body,  or  even  in  the  hands  of  a  single  officer, 
would  not  necessarily  ensure  this  result.  There  was  a  time  in 
The  Syrtem  American  cities  when  patronage  was  committed 

does  net  AMure  to  the  municipal  council,  and  under  this  system 
Adminiitration  partisan  considerations  almost  exclusively  intUi- 
by  Experts  £,,^^.,1    ji,g    making   of    appointments    to   office. 

Municipal  reformers  insisted  that  this  nernicious  policy  could  be 
brought  to  an  end  only  by  irnnsf erring  the  appointing  p<jwer  to 
liie  mayor  and  by  placing  upon  the  mayor  alone  the  full  and 
entire  res{)onsibility.  Ijut  during  the  decade  or  more  since  this 
transfer  has  been  maile  it  may  well  be  tloubted  whether  indivitlual 
merit  and  capabilities  have  counted  much  more  in  determining 
appointments  than  they  did  in  the  days  when  the  council  pos- 
sessed the  patronage.  Now  it  is  proposed  to  vest  the  patronage 
once  again  with  a  body  of  men ;  but  one  may  scarcely  venture  to 
hope  that  partisan  considerations  will  lose  much  of  their  strength 
l)ccause  of  any  such  further  transfer.  Definite  location  of  re- 
sponsibility for  civic  appointments  seems,  as  experience  shows, 
to  afford  some  assurance  against  gross  inefficiency;  it  does  not, 
apparently,  afford  a  guarantee  that  the  degree  of  efficiency  will 
be  very  high. 

An  important  feature  of  both  the  Galveston  and  Des  Moines 
plans  of  city  government  by  commission  is  that  the  "  appropri 
ating  "  and  "  spending "  authorities  are  fused. 
In  other  branches  of  American  government 
it  has  been  the  policy  to  keep  these  two  juris- 
dictions distinct  and  independent ;  and  this  has 
been  true  alike  of  national,  state  and  local  ad- 
ministration. The  legislative  organs  appropriate 
the  funds,  the  administrative  organs  supervise  their  expenditure. 
In  the  New  England  system  of  town  government  the  board  of 
selectmen  does  not  appropriate  moneys  for  any  purpose;  this 
function  is  reserved  to  the  annual  "  town  meeting."  The  con- 
centration of  both  powers  in  the  hands  of  a  single  small  commis- 
sion might,  and  ])robal)ly  would,  serve  the  interests  of  integrity 
so  long  as  men  of  the  right  caliber  constituted  the  cot-mission ; 
but  there  are  those  who  see  in  this   fusion  of  jur,  dictions  a 


The  Concentra 
tion  of  Appro- 
priating^ and 
Expending 
Powers  in  the 
Same  Hands 


»5 

potential  clement  of  danger.  It  involves,  at  any  rate,  a  radical 
departure  from  a  principle  which  has  hitherto  characterized  not 
alone  American  government,  but  the  governmental  systems  of  the 
leading  European  states  as  well.  In  the  successful  administra- 
tion of  German  cities,  for  example,  this  separation  of  the  appro- 
priating from  the  speniling  departments  has  always  been  strongly 
emphasized. 

It  is  sometimes  urged  that  the  general  adoption  of  the  system 
of  government  by  commission  would  encourage  state  interven- 
The  Incentive  *'°"  '"  municipal  affairs.  In  every  large  city 
to  State  Inter-  there  come  up,  yea.-  by  year,  many  important 
ferenoe  questions  which  demand  broad  legislative  action. 

Now,  whether  their  policy  has  .been  v  ise  or  unwise  in  this  direc- 
tion, it  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  state  authorities  have  been 
extremely  loath  to  entrust  broad  legislative  functions  to  small 
boards  whose  juris''xtion  is  mainly  administrative.  The  associa- 
tion of  well-considered  legislative  a'-tion  with  large  bodies  is 
deeply  imbedded  in  the  American  mind  and  will  not  be  easily 
eradicated.  If  large  municipal  councils  are  eliminated  from  the 
framework  of  city  government  there  would  seem  to  be  a  danger 
that  state  legislatures  would  be  tempted  to  assume  for  them- 
selves some  of  the  broader  legislative  functions  which  the  coun- 
cils have  been  accustomed  to  exercise.  At  any  rate,  we  know 
from  experience  that  where  the  legislative  powers  of  municipal 
councils  have  been  curtailed  their  former  powers  have  usually 
been  assumed  by  Mie  state  legislature  and  have  not  been  trans- 
ferred to  some  other  organ  of  loial  government.  That  there 
has  been,  on  the  whole,  too  much  state  interference  in  municipal 
affairs  most  stmlents  of  government  are  disposed  to  admit ;  this 
intervention  has  been  on  occasions  salutary,  but  more  often  detri- 
mental to  the  best  interests  of  the  cities  concerned.  It  may  prop- 
erly be  urged,  therefore,  that  any  step  which  promises  to  afford 
an  incentive  to  greater  inroads  upon  the  principle  of  civic  auton- 
omy should  not  be  taken  hastily  or  without  due  consideration  of 
its  less  immediate  but  none  the  less  important  consequences. 

In  weighing  the  respective  merits  and  defects  of  the  Galveston 
plan  as  these  would  probably  work  out  were  the  system  given 
general  application,  the  burden  of  proof  ought  in  fairness  to  be 
placed  upon  those  who  advocate  the  extension.      A  change  in 


i6 


Conclnaion 


any  department  of  American  gmcmnient  wliich  involves  a  trans- 
formation so  complete  of  the  whole  framework  of  organization 

„  .    .      „    .       should   not   he  readilv  adopted  until   it  can   be 
atlative  Mtnti  . ,     ,  , 

and  Defects  of       ^       ^"  promise,  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  cer- 
the  Plan  tainty,  a  very  tlecisive  improvement  in  civic  ad- 

ministration. It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
experiment  of  government  by  commission  has  as  yet  been  ade- 
quately tried  in  Galveston  alon-,  and  that  here  the  circumstances 
were  distinctly  unusual.  A  receivership  may  be  the  Ijest  means 
of  getting  a  bankrupt  business  corporation  upon  its  financial  feet, 
but  does  not  follow  that  all  sound  and  solvent  concerns  should 
forthwith  permanently  adopt  this  method  of  administering  their 
atYairs. 

(3n  the  other  hand,  as  the  present  system  of  civic  administra- 
tion is  loo  complicated,  and  too  cursed  with  the  curse  of  divided 
responsibility  to  prove  reasonably  efficient,  any 
step  in  the  direction  of  simplification  .should  be 
welcomed  by  those  who  have  the  best  interests  of  American  cities 
at  heart.  Those  who  are  prone  to  look  askance  at  anything  which 
involves  concentration  of  power  may  be  reminded  that  such  is 
never  dangerous  when  accompanied  by  an  equal  concentration  of 
responsibility.  Not  a  few  Ai.ierican  cities  at  the  present  time  are, 
as  every  one  knows,  controlled  by  small  coteries  of  men — party 
managers — who  dominate  the  official  organs.  These  men  are 
dangerous  because  they  concentrate  power  without  responsibility. 
The  system  of  govcrnr  I  by  commission,  if  it  would  not  elim- 
inate the  "  bosses,"  promises  at  any  rate  to  compel  them  to 
work  in  the  open. 

E.xper intents  with  the  Galveston  plan  in  a  number  of  cities 
ilififcring  in  size  and  situated  in  tlifferent  parts  of  the  country, 
will  serve  to  mark  out  more  clearly  the  merits  and  defects  of 
the  system  in  action.  Such  experiments  may  be  welcomed  as 
paving  the  way  for  what  may  secure  substantial  improvement  in 
civic  administration ;  but  no  one  who  appreciates  the  difficulties 
of  the  problem  will  readily  hope  to  find  in  this  or  n  any  other 
formal  change  a  panacea  for  all  municipal  ills.  The  plan  can  be 
said  to  have  established  a  f^riira  facie  case ;  and  it  well  deserves 
a  sympathetic  trial  on  a  sufficiently  broad  scale  to  enable  it  to 
be  fairly  judged. 


■Mi 


